#695 - "Prison Break"
Night fell over Liangzhou Prison.
A row of torches flickered along the dim and narrow passageway, the flames greedily consuming the already thin air, making everything here feel particularly suffocating.
In a prison cell at the end of the passageway, Yan Huanwen, who had been imprisoned here for nearly a month, had a vacant stare and sunken cheeks, resembling a walking corpse.
Although he had not been subjected to any abuse during this time, and his daily meals were far better than those of other prisoners,
the sudden change in status from the ruler of a nation to a prisoner was still difficult for Yan Huanwen to accept.
What made him even more uncomfortable was the feeling of helplessness from being cut off from all outside information.
He did not know the extent of the war outside.
He did not know the current situation in Dajue.
He did not know if Yan Huaiqing would save him.
He did not know what had become of Su Xiu and the Seventh Demon Territory.
Now, Yan Huanwen was like someone who had lost all his senses, completely unaware of everything happening outside.
Along with this, his ability to assess the situation had also disappeared.
Or rather, Yan Huanwen no longer possessed the most basic conditions to judge the current situation.
Since Wei Zhaohai left Liangzhou half a month ago, he had not been interrogated again.
He did not dare to proactively ask to speak with Wei Zhaohai or Wei Changtian.
Because he knew that he would have no say in the face of such a huge information gap, and would only be led around by the nose.
He would only have a chance to "escape" when the situation outside stabilized, or became more intense, when Wei Changtian needed him.
For this, Yan Huanwen had waited half a month.
But unfortunately, until today, he had not waited for anything.
Apart from the expressionless jailers who brought him food twice a day, he had not seen anyone else.
It was as if he had been completely forgotten.
...
Extending his withered hand, he picked up a few grains of white rice from the bottom of the bowl and put them in his mouth.
Yan Huanwen closed his eyes, slowly chewing the rice, his mind already guessing the situation outside for the countless time.
Judging from the time, the Dajue army should have crossed the Tianshan Mountains and reached Liangzhou City no matter what.
So, the two sides had most likely already started fighting.
But that was not certain.
After all, he was now in Wei Changtian's hands, and since the latter had not killed him, he must want to use him to negotiate some conditions with Dajue.
Qing'er should be in charge of the overall situation now.
Qing'er is smart, resourceful, and should be able to stabilize the court.
It's just that Qing'er's ambition is also very great.
So, he shouldn't...
No, definitely not.
I am Qing'er's imperial father, his biological father.
Qing'er wouldn't abandon me.
Perhaps Wei Changtian offered too high a price, and he is still hesitating.
If that's the case, then I'll die, and there's nothing to regret.
I only hope that Qing'er can avenge me one day...
As the rice grains in his mouth were swallowed, Yan Huanwen opened his eyes again, his gaze filled with bitterness.
He tremblingly reached out his hand, wanting to pick up a few more grains of rice to slowly savor.
However, at the next moment, his dirty hand suddenly stopped in mid-air.
His turbid eyes suddenly widened, as if a trace of clarity had instantly returned.
Yan Huanwen opened his mouth wide, staring blankly at the slowly opening prison door, watching several masked men in black slip into the prison cell, then quickly come before him and kneel down on one knee in unison.
Your Majesty!
Your subordinates are late! Please forgive us, Your Majesty!
...
Black clothes, black boots, black knives.
A coiled snake was carved on the hilt of the knife.
Yan Huanwen was all too familiar with this attire, so he couldn't help but be stunned.
However, jailbreaks are all about "speed and efficiency", so the masked men didn't have time to wait for him to ask questions. Someone immediately explained:
Your Majesty, after the news of your abduction was sent back, the court was immediately plunged into chaos.
Fortunately, His Highness the Prince quickly came out to stabilize the court and immediately sent envoys to negotiate with Wei Changtian.
However, Wei Changtian took the opportunity to make exorbitant demands. His Highness had no choice but to delay while ordering us to attempt a jailbreak.
After several plans, we finally sneaked in today when the prison's defenses were lax.
Your Majesty, the enemy has not yet noticed, but they may discover something amiss at any time.
Your subordinates have already arranged an escape route outside the prison. We will escort you away now!
...
After a few words, the whole story was explained, and immediately a man in black stepped forward to help Yan Huanwen up, and without saying a word, walked towards the prison cell.
Yan Huanwen was, after all, the ruler of a nation, so after a brief moment of confusion, he had already recovered from his shock.
Glancing at the jailers who were fainted in the passageway, he walked quickly and asked urgently:
How is the battle situation outside?
Reporting to Your Majesty, our army has already reached Liangzhou City, and the two sides have been fighting for several days.
The leading man in black quickly replied: "Although the city has not yet been breached, the enemy is clearly at a disadvantage and probably won't last long."
"Because of this, your subordinates were afraid that Wei Changtian would become angry and take action against you once the city was breached, so we took the risk today."
Your Majesty, be careful of your feet.
Kicking away a torch that had fallen to the ground, the man in black stopped talking and vigilantly observed the surrounding situation.
When Yan Huanwen heard that his side was winning the battle, he breathed a sigh of relief.
That's good, that's good.
Qing'er did well, not putting the overall situation at risk to save me.
Good, ah...
...
The relieved murmur echoed in the narrow passageway, and people in the prison cells on both sides kept getting up, staring at them with wide eyes.
Some prisoners had already seen something and were now lying on the prison door shouting:
Heroes! Please save me too!
Heroes, save me!!
I was wronged! Really!!
Damn it! If you don't save me, I'll shout! I won't let you escape!
Whether begging or threatening, all kinds of shouts suddenly rang out.
If they kept shouting like this, it would be difficult for the people outside not to notice the abnormality inside.
However, these men in black were decisive enough. After looking at each other, they drew their knives and slashed at the prison doors without saying a word.
"Swish!"
The light of the knife flashed, passing through the gaps in the iron bars in the excited eyes of several prisoners, flashing across their necks.
"Thump!"
The next second, several heads fell to the ground, instantly stopping all the shouting.
...
These prisoners were not all death row inmates. Although being locked up in prison was very painful, they would eventually be able to go out one day, so they naturally did not dare to shout anymore.
The prison became extremely quiet in an instant, with only the sound of a few people's footsteps echoing.
There were still only a few dozen feet to the end of the passageway. After walking out of the passageway and turning a few corners, passing through the backyard of the prison yamen, they could escape from the prison and enter Liangzhou City.
And until now, the people outside seemed to be completely unaware of this.
It seemed that the entire "jailbreak" had been going very smoothly so far.
However, when Yan Huanwen saw the prisoners in the prison cells next to him, he suddenly thought of someone.
Xiu'er!
And Xiu'er!
Quick! Quickly go and rescue her too!
